As our daily work is more and more related to computers, how to properly maintain and monitor an institution's computer system is a challenge. For example, in order to protect the institution's computer system from virus invasion, an anti-virus program needs to be run and check the system routinely. If the program does not make the scheduled checks, a virus may damage the system, which may cause loss of critical information and failure of important operations. As another example, a financial institution may send clients' trade records or transaction data at a designated time on a daily basis. If its computer system does not transmit these data according to the scheduled timeframe, the customers' business may be adversely affected.
Most current systems detect occurrence of scheduled events. However, there is no reliable solution for monitoring and warning when scheduled events fail to occur. Other drawbacks may also be present.